Artist Index

John James Audubon

Jean-Jacques Audubon (April 26,1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species and a number of new sub-species. Audubon drew birds from life whenever possible rather than from specimens alone. He did, indeed, shoot specimens that he wired and propped into life-like positions as models for his paintings. He spent much of his life traveling the continent observing the birds (and animals) in remarkable depth and detail. He studied the creatures in all of their plumages. He took note of the birds’ food and habitat preferences meticulously. And, he watched them move, interact, and behave. He strove for action and reality; this was a new approach to the painting of birds.View all Artwork

Robert Mills

Robert Mills (1781-1855), American architect of the classical revival period, b. Charleston, S.C. From 1800 to 1820 he worked as an architect in Washington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, being associated at different times with Thomas Jefferson, James Hoban, and B. H. Latrobe. He then returned to Charleston as state engineer and architect. In 1836, President Jackson appointed Mills architect of public buildings in Washington. In this post he was responsible for designing and supervising the construction of the Treasury Building in 1836 and the Patent Office and the Post Office (now the International Trade Commission), both begun in 1839. His design (1833) for the Washington Monument was executed(1848–84) without the base originally intended for it. Mills had planned to have the great obelisk superimposed upon a large Greek Doric Pantheon. He also designed the Washington Monument in Baltimore, the Bunker Hill Monument, and the Monumental Church in Richmond, Va. Seeking to create a truly American architecture, Mills devised plans for public buildings that were highly practical. His buildings give the effect of great dignity and massiveness, corresponding to their solidity of construction.